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Jaime King details five-year motherhood battle

By:
WENN.com
Jul 27, 2014

Actress Jaime King struggled to become a mother for five years before she successfully gave birth to her son last year (13). The Hart of Dixie star and husband Kyle Newman welcomed their first child James in October (13) and King has now revealed she suffered from conditions including Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, which meant she struggled to have a baby for nearly five years.
She endured five miscarriages and five rounds of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) before she finally had a child, but even then, her problems were far from over.
King revealed her health woes on Instagram.com on Friday (25Jul14) to assure other women struggling with infertility that they are not alone, writing, "8 yrs of pain & undiagnosed PCOS & Endometriosis. 5 miscarriages, 5 rounds of IVF... most with no outcome, 4-1/2 years of trying to conceive, 26 hours of brutal labour, early delivery b/c (because) of sudden preeclampsia, tearing and tearing after the stitches were in once I was home, milk supply issues... uncontrollable crying while breastfeeding, worked until the day before I have birth and went back after 6 weeks after because I was afraid of letting others down."

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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The organizers of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival have released the full list of films they're planning to screen during the Sept. 5 - 15 fete. It's a decidedly more down to earth list of titles than appeared at Cannes in May but may boast even more Oscar contenders: films like August: Osage County, The Fifth Estate, Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom, 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, and one very special new film from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises. Here are five takeaways we had from this year's TIFF lineup, and below that, you'll find a list of select titles from the lineup for which we're especially excited.
1. Character is King — Deeply felt character studies dominate the lineup this year rather than movies driven more by visual flash. Some are more or less traditional biopics like Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom, Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. Ron Howard's Rush emphasizes the clash of personalities between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) as much as it does the races. And Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, perhaps the biggest visual spectacle on the TIFF lineup, is notable for being a portrait of a female astronaut (Bullock) and her struggle to survive after an accident while also dealing with her lingering emotional distress following the death of her daughter. Toronto this year is truly an actor's market. Even more so because...
2. A Bunch of Actors Are Trying Their Hand at Directing — Jason Bateman is making his feature-film directing debut with the spelling bee revenge comedy Bad Words, while James Franco is following up his (pretty much unwatched) Hart Crane and Sal Mineo biopics with his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Child of God. And of course Joseph Gordon-Levitt will unspool his directorial debut, Don Jon, which is also the first time we've seen him with a gelled-up pompadour.
3. Cory Monteith Is Well Represented – The late Glee star has not one but two films at TIFF, Gia Milani's All the Wrong Reasons and Josh C. Waller's McCanick, both of which will make their world premiere at the fest.
4. This is the Place for Smaller, More Personal Films — While Cannes can still celebrate movies that might not otherwise find an audience (like Abdellatif Kechiche's Palme d'Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color, also at TIFF), Toronto goes all-in for small films. Just this past May Cannes got showy movies from big, flashy directors like Roman Polanski, the Coen Brothers, Baz Luhrmann, Nicolas Winding Refn, Stephen Soderbergh, and Takashi Miike. But this year Toronto will draw Steve McQueen, Kelly Reichardt, Stephen Frears, Jason Reitman, and Alex Gibney, often the makers of quieter, more introspective films — films that may not even have found a distributor yet. That's ultimately why...
5. Toronto Is More Important Than Cannes — Actor and Lars von Trier repertory member Jean-Marc Barr once told me, "Cannes is now like the G8 summit." It's pretty corporate and not as essential these days for films really looking for a distributor. Looked at another way, Palme d'Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color still doesn't have a North American distributor. However, Toronto is the perfect laboratory for testing out films with a North American audience — if Franco's Child of God doesn't get a distributor after TIFF, it might not get one at all. You can also see Toronto as the first stop on the Oscar circuit. If there's a groundswell of support for Sandra Bullock for Best Actress consideration for Gravity, it'll be because buzz was first generated among potential Oscar voters at Toronto, not Cannes.
Here are some of the most notable films appearing TIFF 2013. What are you looking forward to?
The Fifth Estate Bill Condon, USA (World Premiere) OPENING NIGHT
Life of Crime Daniel Schecter, USA (World Premiere) CLOSING NIGHT
August: Osage County John Wells, USA (World Premiere)
Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom Peter Chadwick (World Premiere)
Rush Ron Howard, United Kingdom/Germany (International Premiere)
All the Wrong Reasons Gia Milani, Canada (World Premiere)
The Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney, USA (North American Premiere)
Bad Words Jason Bateman, USA (World Premiere)
Blue Is The Warmest Color Abdellatif Kechiche, France (North American Premiere)
Child of God James Franco, USA (North American Premiere)
Dallas Buyers Club Jean-Marc Vallée, USA (World Premiere)
Don Jon Joseph Gordon-Levitt, USA (Canadian Premiere)
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón, USA/United Kingdom (North American Premiere)
Labor Day Jason Reitman, USA (World Premiere)
McCanick Josh C. Waller, USA (World Premiere)
Night Moves Kelly Reichardt, USA (North American Premiere)
Only Lovers Left Alive Jim Jarmusch, USA (North American Premiere)
Philomena Stephen Frears, United Kingdom (North American Premiere)
12 Years a Slave Steve McQueen, USA (World Premiere)
The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) Hayao Miyazaki, Japan (North American Premiere)
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Ever since Lori's (un)timely death, the man, the myth, the hot mess that is Rick Grimes has been on an annoying downward spiral with an end that seemed to be nowhere in sight. And who would have known that, 31 episodes into the series, it wouldn't be Carl, or Hershel, or any of the other misfits he's met along his journey that would snap him right back to reality. Instead, it was Morgan Jones, the kindly man who fostered Rick during the show's pilot, that would unintentionally drill in a very important message: Rick Grimes, s**t could always be worse.
I'm guessing that tonight's episode will be a polarizing one. Not only did we not see any forward movement on the Grimes versus Woodbury plot line, but there were no epic Walker battles — and, oh yeah, the only characters shown in the episode were Rick, Carl, Michonne, and Morgan. Any episode that excludes Daryl Dixon in favor of generally unpopular characters like Carl and Michonne is a risk, but I think that this particular risk was very well worth taking. It was the first episode that actually humanized Michonne as a real live being with feelings, and not just a scowl-face ("I think she might be one of us," says Carl). Also, it furthered Carl along on his journey from annoying pre-teen to courageous adult with a strong sense of morals in an increasingly morally deprived world. Plus, that cat! And rats on skateboards! (ASIDE: Why have we not seen any cats on The Walking Dead? If anyone can easily escape a herd of Walkers and remain well-fed during a Zombie Apocalypse, it's a cat. New showrunner Scott Gimple, please hire some cats.)
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But mostly, this was the episode that effectively halted Rick's downward spiral, by sending him back to his home town for ammo (ASIDE: Was anyone else laughing at how little they've traveled over the last few seasons?), and putting him face to face with someone who has fared far worse in this post-apocalyptic society. Rick may have lost Lori and some other randos along the way (sorry, T-Dog), but he still has his son, and some pretty good people to share some semblance of a life with. Something to fight for, if you will. When Rick stared Morgan straight in the face, he saw what he himself would become if he continued on his current trajectory. He saw the face of what all-encompassing loss can do to a person. It sucks.
And it wasn't even just Morgan — the whole episode was a giant jolt for the audience, too, as we've become accustomed to a season filled to the brim with cray cray humans, both in Woodbury and the prison. (Fight the dead, fear the living — remember?) This season has felt very alive in a show about the literal and metaphoric walking dead, and tonight offered a huge break from that. The trip to Rick and Carl's hometown gave us and them their first real look back, and boy was it depressing. The opening shot of the episode offered a glimpse at one permanently forgotten family's tragic story ("Erin, we tried for Stone Mountain — J"), and the other car on the highway, filled with rotten corpses, was an obvious metaphor for RICK GRIMES, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN YOU. (Rick did show occasional looks of remorse when he saw the misfortune of others, but come on — you know he wouldn't let that family into the Grimes Gang if they had survived. If only they too had been driving a Hyundai.)
Case in point: the faceless dude who ran after the Grimes' Hyundai, completely alone and desperate, on the highway. Dude, you're about to become a statistic. I'm not sure if it was Rick's unwillingness to take people in — highlighted again by the conversation Michonne overheard where Rick told Carl that she was only with them now, temporarily, because they had common goals — or just seeing the lonely desolation that would be her life without them, but a lightbulb finally went off in Michonne's thick head. That talking lightbulb said, "Maybe be nice to these people and smile now and then, Michonne, before they throw you out on the road with Merle. This world is f***ing brutal and you're lucky to have friends, even if one of those friends is Carl." Talking lightbulb is deep, you guys.
But we'll get back to Michonne and Carl's B-plot bonding later, because the Rick and Morgan stuff was really good. After the Grimes trio unsuccessfully raided Rick's old company headquarters (the sheriff's station) for guns and ammo, Rick suggested that they head to main street because, as Plainsville's NRA spokesperson and gun permit-signer, he knew where all of the town's secret stashes were. ("Do you have a problem with that approach?" Rick asked Michonne, being a total prick. "No Rick, I don't have a problem," she sincerely replied with a look of sadness, as she handed him a lone bullet. Michonne can be endearing when she actually tries.)
So off to main street they went, except main street wasn't main street anymore, it was a mess of Mount Vesuvius-style charred corpses, ominous graffitied warnings, and Walker traps that vaguely resembled the barricades from the stage version of Les Miserables. The town was clearly being run by a very resourceful lone loon. And that lone loon, we soon learned when he appeared from a rooftop demanding their guns and their rapid departure, was MORGAN! A shoot-out immediately followed, and Carl shot him — because Carl shoots everybody nowadays. Just ask Saturday Night Live. Then Rick took off Morgan's mask, and had a "holy s**t" moment when he saw his old pal. He'd been wearing a bulletproof vest so he was fine, just passed out. And without his little son Duane, so it was obvious that this man's story was going to descend into tragedy-ville as soon as he woke up.
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Oh, did it ever! Morgan was living in a booby-trapped apartment, with walls covered in scribbles (the first lesson you learn in Looney Loon 101) and Rick's walkie-talkie of missed opportunity. Do you know what that walkie-talkie smelled like to Rick Grimes? It smelled like guilt. Rick hadn't turned on that outdated piece of technology every day at dawn to rescue his ill-fated friend. He'd gone on living — becoming embroiled in Lori/Shane scandals, having children, making friends with Daryl. A pretty okay life, considering. Michonne — the voice of reason in Daryl's absence — wanted to get the you-know-what out of there ("I think he's dangerous," she said. Duh!), but Rick Grimes loves confronting his demons and feeling guilty about things so he stuck around, while Carl and Michonne went on a photography-inspired adventure that we'll get to momentarily. Before they left, we had our @LOLMichonne moment of the week when Rick scolded her for eating the still passed out Morgan's food. "Mat says 'welcome,'" she replied with a hefty dose of monotone and a shrug. Girl, you silly.
Morgan woke up a few minutes later (right after we saw that he'd scribbled EVERYONE TURNS on the wall), and tried to stab Rick. Dude appeared to be three sheets to the wind with madness. "I don't know you!" he screamed, after mumbling something about Rick wearing a dead man's face. "You don't clear! You turn! You just die! Psycho babble psycho babble!" he ranted, whilst still trying to stab Rick in the face. He nicked him in the shoulder, then began to cry and begged Rick to kill him once Sheriff Grimes got the upper hand.
Of course, he regained clarity and recognized Rick as soon as Rick brought out the symbolic walkie talkie. "You said you'd turn yours on at dawn, that's what you said," Morgan cried. He'd turned it on every day, for weeks. With his boy. But no, nothing — nothin' but nothin' from Rick Grimes. "You said you'd turn on your radio every day at dawn, and YOU WERE NOT [period] THERE [period]," he screamed. Great, just what Rick needs — more ruined lives to feel accountable for. Rick tried to explain his actions to Morgan, but duh, mostly to himself. He had lives he was in charge of, he explained. They had to keep moving. (ASIDE: I've been saying for weeks that Rick needs to get over feeling accountable for every person that's been somehow f***ed over since the beginning of this series if he's going to survive, and it seems like this is finally happening. Thanks for being the sacrificial lamb, Morgan.)
Morgan is sad and crazy so we'll give him a pass, but he was being kind of a d**k to Rick. You know, sarcastically telling Rick his life was great because he didn't have to see his wife turn like Morgan did. I hated him for about ten seconds, but then he told a horrible story that makes Carl shooting Lori sound downright uplifting. Remember in the pilot, when Rick gave Morgan the gun to shoot his Walker wife? But he couldn't do it? Morgan remembers that, too. "I let her go like there wasn't going to be a reckoning," he said. (ASIDE: I mean, it was totally obvious that this story was coming from the moment we found out that Duane was dead, but Lennie James' deliverance was just soul-crushing.)
Morgan and Duane were looking for food, you see. (It always comes down to food.) He looked away for just long enough for his wife to reappear, right over Duane. Duane held up his gun, ready to shoot. But, alas, Duane was no Carl Grimes, and Morgan was unable to stop it. "He turned, and she was just on him," he explained. "And I just see red. I see red." Oh boy, this is heartbreaking. Call your loved ones and get back to me…
… K. My mom says hi. So Morgan didn't kill his wife, then his wife killed his son, and Rick Grimes was the man that gave him the gun that could have prevented all that. That's why he's bananagrams, and it totally makes sense. Rick Grimes was starting to look and feel very normal in comparison, as Morgan told him that Carl and everyone he knew would surely die. I mean it's true, but telling white lies never hurt anyone, Morgan.
Regardless of Morgan being a total buzz-kill, Rick invited him back to the prison, selling it as some kind of Utopia. (ASIDE: Really, Rick? You kick out the lovely, totally mentally adept Tyreese and his gang and deliver them to the welcoming hands of the Governor, but beg this loon to join you? Think about your life, Rick. Think about your choices.) But Morgan decided to rot in the prison of his own making, instead. It was an awful lot of guns Rick was taking, and Morgan wanted no part of any sort of human struggle. He'd already chosen a slow and brutal death, and was clearly in the right place. "Why do you need the guns, Rick? Cause if you've got something good, that just means there's someone who wants to take it. That is what is happening, right?" I mean — yeah.
"You will be torn apart by teeth or bullets," Morgan went on. "You and your boy. Your people. But not me — because I am not going to watch that happen again." Chilling. And this was the moment, ladies and gents, where Rick Grimes CHOSE LIFE! "This can't be it," Rick said. "You have to be able to come back from this." He was metaphorically talking to himself, right? Or the version of himself that would be if he kept talking to visions of Lori? This is so the "Ghost of Christmas Future" section of A Christmas Carol. Rick stared his future in the face, and didn't like what he saw. He tried to reason with that future, then realized there was no reasoning once you jumped fully into the rabbit hole. So he took his guns, and he left. Bye Morgan, thanks for being symbolically brilliant and what not. Enjoy all the misery and the rats on skateboards. Maybe get a dog, too, because that worked wonders for I Am Legend.
Now it's time to delve into the unlikely friendship between Carl Grimes and Michonne… (does she have a last name?) Carl left Morgan's apartment under the guise of getting a crib for Asskicker at the Plainsville Baby Emporium, but Michonne knows bulls**t when she sees it (see: Woodbury). Carl is a terrible liar, and it was obvious that he was off to take some sort of ill-fated trip down memory lane. Also, Chandler Riggs is a good actor, and wears his emotions all over his f***ing adorable Bieber-y face. So Michonne either A, likes Carl as a human being, B, wanted to get in good with the Grimes Gang, C, knew that hanging out with Rick would be terrible, or D, doesn't care for the death of children. Whatever it was, she followed him. You know, to help "carry the crib."
As soon as they left, Carl gave Michonne the dip while she sliced open a Walker. She was scowley until she caught up with him and he walked straight past the Baby Emporium, saying he was going to get little Asskicker something else first. Clearly this was something of importance to poor little Carl, who should be learning Algebra but is instead learning how to survive in a world without hope (not sure which is worse), and Michonne's heart grew three sizes that day. Michonne decided to help out on this sure to be stupid mission, and selflessly accompanying a member of the Grimes Gang on a stupid mission is the only way to gain membership to this terribly exclusive group, so the decision was a good one.
Carl was very unwelcoming at first, spewing out his dad's hurtful argument that she was only there because they had common interests, then she would GTFO with Merle and the other unpopular kids. The thick-headed cowboy was headed into a Walker-filled restaurant though, so she ignored him. Way to turn down help from the warrior woman with a Katana, Carl. A total Carl Grimes move, if you will. Then, obviously, Michonne saved Carl's life and killed the s*** out of several Walkers, but they were not able to retrieve this mysterious restaurant item that Carl so badly desired. (Was it whiskey?) "It's the only one left!" Carl cried. "We have to go back, Kate!" Michonne knew he wasn't going to let this one go. "No more bulls**t," she said. "You wait here, and that's how we get it done."
Thankfully, Carl actually listened — and seconds later Michonne came back with a photo of Rick, Lori, and little innocent Carl. "I just thought Judith should know what her mom looked like," he said with an adorable smile. "Thank you." But Michonne was going to go back anyway, to retrieve a colorful statue of a cat. "I just couldn't leave this behind," she said. "It's just too damn gorgeous," she said. Then something wonderful happened — she smiled! Michonne smiled! Michonne likes art! We're learning so much about her, finally, and I like her. I maybe even cried a little. Sue me, this was an emotional episode.
In the end, Carl and Michonne (who found a crib!) met up with Rick and Morgan in the street. "He's okay," Michonne observed. "No, he's not," Rick replied. Carl apologized to Morgan for shooting him, and Morgan told him to never be sorry. This is not a world where you can feel sorry, Carl Grimes. Your father just spent an entire episode learning that very same lesson, let's hope you pick up on it sooner.
They packed up the Hyundai with their guns and baby stuff, (how totally red state, emiright?) and Carl announced to Rick that Michonne "might be one of us," while she was pretty much standing right there. I love how they do that. These two are absolutely terrible at talking about people behind their backs. Then Michonne buddied up with the elder Grimes, stating matter-of-factly that she knew that he had been seeing things. "I used to talk to my dead boyfriend," she said. "It happens." Michonne had a boyfriend! Michonne is so likable! I love this episode, and Rick's response: "Do you want to drive?" he asked. "Yeah," she replied. (It's a Hyundai! Who wouldn't want to drive a Hyundai?) "Good, cause I see things." Rick Grimes, you are so damn sexy when your head is on straight.
Michonne drove off, while Rick gazed out the window — saying goodbye to his old life, and his guilt — once and for all. To hammer this point in, they drove past the guts of the poor hapless hitchhiker from the beginning of the episode, and stole all of his stuff. That's the spirit! All in all, I thought that this was a tremendous episode, with some of the best writing and characterization we've seen all season. But enough about me — what did you think? Did you like seeing Morgan again? Do you feel that Rick is fully healed? What do you think Merle was doing while all of this was going down? Mentally torturing someone, I'd reckon. Let us know in the comments!
Follow Shaunna on Twitter @HWShaunna
[Photo Credit: AMC (2)]
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In a post-Harry Potter Avatar and Lord of the Rings world the descriptors "sci-fi" and "fantasy" conjure up particular imagery and ideas. The Hunger Games abolishes those expectations rooting its alternate universe in a familiar reality filled with human characters tangible environments and terrifying consequences. Computer graphics are a rarity in writer/director Gary Ross' slow-burn thriller wisely setting aside effects and big action to focus on star Jennifer Lawrence's character's emotional struggle as she embarks on the unthinkable: a 24-person death match on display for the entire nation's viewing pleasure. The final product is a gut-wrenching mature young adult fiction adaptation diffused by occasional meandering but with enough unexpected choices to keep audiences on their toes.
Panem a reconfigured post-apocalyptic America is sectioned off into 12 unique districts and ruled under an iron thumb by the oppressive leaders of The Capitol. To keep the districts producing their specific resources and prevent them from rebelling The Capitol created The Hunger Games an annual competition pitting two 18-or-under "tributes" from each district in a battle to the death. During the ritual tribute "Reaping " teenage Katniss (Lawrence) watches as her 12-year-old sister Primrose is chosen for battle—and quickly jumps to her aid becoming the first District 12 citizen to volunteer for the games. Joined by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) a meek baker's son and the second tribute Effie the resident designer and Haymitch a former Hunger Games winner-turned-alcoholic-turned-mentor Katniss rides off to The Capitol to train and compete in the 74th Annual Hunger Games.
The greatest triumph of The Hunger Games is Ross' rich realization of the book's many worlds: District 12 is painted as a reminiscent Southern mining town haunting and vibrant; The Capitol is a utopian metropolis obsessed with design and flair; and The Hunger Games battleground is a sprawling forest peppered with Truman Show-esque additions that remind you it's all being controlled by overseers. The small-scale production value adds to the character-first approach and even when the story segues to larger arenas like a tickertape parade in The Capitol's grand Avenue of Tributes hall it's all about Katniss.
For fans the script hits every beat a nearly note-for-note interpretation of author Suzanne Collins' original novel—but those unfamiliar shouldn't worry about missing anything. Ross knows his way around a sharp screenplay (he's the writer of Big Pleasantville and Seabiscuit) and he's comfortable dropping us right into the action. His characters are equally as colorful as Panem Harrelson sticking out as the former tribute enlivened by the chance to coach winners. He's funny he's discreet he's shaded—a quality all the cast members share. As a director Ross employs a distinct often-grating perspective. His shaky cam style emphasizes the reality of the story but in fight scenarios—and even simple establishing shots of District 12's goings-on—the details are lost in motion blur.
But the dread of the scenario is enough to make Hunger Games an engrossing blockbuster. The lead-up to the actual competition is an uncomfortable and biting satire of reality television sports and everything that commands an audience in modern society. Katniss' brooding friend Gale tells her before she departs "What if nobody watched?" speculating that carnage might end if people could turn away. Unfortunately they can't—forcing Katniss and Peeta to become "stars" of the Hunger Games. The duo are pushed to gussy themselves up put on a show and play up their romance for better ratings. Lawrence channels her reserved Academy Award-nominated Winter's Bone character to inhabit Katniss' frustration with the system. She's great at hunting but she doesn't want to kill. She's compassionate and considerate but has no interest in bowing down to the system. She's a leader but she knows full well she's playing The Capitol's game. Even with 23 other contestants vying for the top spot—like American Idol with machetes complete with Ryan Seacrest stand-in Caesar Flickerman (the dazzling Stanley Tucci)—Katniss' greatest hurdle is internal. A brave move for a movie aimed at a young audience.
By the time the actual Games roll around (the movie clocks in at two and a half hours) there's a need to amp up the pace that never comes and The Hunger Games loses footing. Katniss' goal is to avoid the action hiding in trees and caves waiting patiently for the other tributes to off themselves—but the tactic isn't all that thrilling for those watching. Luckily Lawrence Hutcherson and the ensemble of young actors still deliver when they cross paths and particular beats pack all the punch an all-out deathwatch should. PG-13 be damned the film doesn't skimp on the bloodshed even when it comes to killing off children. The Hunger Games bites off a lot for the first film of a franchise and does so bravely and boldly. It may not make it to the end alive but it doesn't go down without a fight.
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Salt the propulsive new thriller from Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger Patriot Games) has been dubbed “Bourne with boobs ” but that label isn’t entirely accurate. In the role of Evelyn Salt a CIA staffer hunted by her own agency after a Russian defector fingers her in a plot to murder Russia’s president Angelina Jolie keeps her two most potent weapons holstered hidden under pantsuits and trenchcoats and the various other components of a super-spy wardrobe that proudly emphasizes function over flash.
But flash is one thing Salt never lacks for. Its breathless cat-and-mouse game hits full-throttle almost from the outset when a former KGB officer named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) stumbles into a CIA interrogation room and begins spilling details of a vast conspiracy. Back in the ‘70s hardline elements of the Soviet regime launched an ambitious new front in the Cold War flooding the western world with orphans trained to infiltrate the security complexes of their adopted homelands and wait patiently — decades if necessary — for the order to initiate a series of assassinations intended to trigger a devastating nuclear clash between the superpowers from which the treacherous Reds would emerge triumphant.
The Soviet Union may have long ago collapsed (or did it? Hmmm...) but its army of brainwashed killer orphan spies remains in place and if this crazy Orlov fellow is to be believed they stand poised to reignite the Cold War. It’s a preposterous — even idiotic — scheme but no more so than any of our government’s various harebrained proposals to kill Castro back in the ‘60s. As such the CIA treats it with grave seriousness even the part that that pegs Salt who just happens to be a Russian-born orphan herself as a key player in the conspiracy.
Salt bristles at the accusation but suspecting a set-up she opts to flee rather than face interrogation from her bosses Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). A former field agent she’s been confined to a desk job since a clandestine operation in North Korea went south leaving her with a nasty shiner and a rather unremarkable German boyfriend (now her unremarkable German husband). She’s clearly kept up her training during while cubicle-bound however and in a blaze of resourceful thinking and devastating Parkour Fu she fends off a dozen or so agents of questionable competence and takes to the streets where she sets about to clear her name and unravel the Commie orphan conspiracy before the authorities can catch up with her. That is if she isn’t a part of the conspiracy.
The premise which aims to resurrect Cold War tensions and graft them onto a modern-day spy thriller is absurdly clever — and cleverly absurd. But Kurt Wimmer’s screenplay isn’t satisfied with the merely clever and absurd — it must be mind-blowing. Salt is one of those thrillers that ladles out its backstory slowly and in tiny portions every once in a while dropping a revelatory bombshell that effectively blows the lid off everything that happened beforehand. No one is who they seem and every action every gesture no matter how seemingly trivial is imbued with some kind of grand significance. The effect of piling on one insane twist after another has the effect of gradually diluting the narrative. When anything is possible nothing really matters.
But spy thrillers by definition trade in the preposterous and the principal function of the summer blockbuster is to entertain. In that regard Salt more than fulfills its charge. Noyce wisely keeps the story moving at pace that allows little time for asking uncomfortable questions or poking holes in the film’s frail plot. And he has an able partner in the infinitely versatile Jolie who having already exhibited formidable action-hero chops in Wanted and the Tomb Raider films proves remarkably adept at the spy game as well.
It’s well-known that Jolie wasn’t the first choice to star in Salt joining the project only after Tom Cruise dropped out citing the story’s growing similarities to the Mission: Impossible films. But she’s more than just a capable replacement; she’s a welcome upgrade over Cruise not least because she’s over a decade younger (and a few inches taller) than her predecessor. Should Brad Bird require a pinch-hitter for Ethan Hunt he knows where to look.

The God of Legion secular Hollywood’s latest Biblically-inspired action flick is old-school an angry spiteful Almighty with a penchant for Old Testament theatrics. Fed up with humanity’s decadent warmongering ways He’s decided to pull the plug on the whole crazy experiment and start over from scratch.
Fortunately for us the God of Legion is also a rather lazy fellow. Instead of doing the apocalyptic work himself and wiping us out with a giant flood which worked perfectly well last time He opts to delegate the task to His army of angels — a questionable strategy that starts to fall apart when the archangel charged with leading the planned extermination Michael (Paul Bettany) refuses to comply.
Michael who unlike his boss still harbors affection for our sorry species abandons his post and descends to earth where inside the swollen belly of Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) an unwed mother-to-be working as a waitress in an out-of-the-way diner sits humanity’s lone hope for survival. Why is this particular baby so important? Is it the one destined to lead us to victory over Skynet? Heaven knows — Legion reveals little details its script devoid of actual scripture. What is clear is that God’s celestial hitmen want the kid whacked before it’s born.
But Michael won’t let humanity fall without a fight. Armed with a Waco-sized arsenal of assault weapons he hunkers down with the diner’s patrons a largely superfluous collection of thinly-sketched caricatures from various demographic groups led by Dennis Quaid as the diner’s grizzled owner Tyrese Gibson as a hip-hop hustler and Lucas Black as a simple-minded country boy.
Together they mount a heroic final stand against hordes of angels who’ve taken possession of “weak-willed” humans turning kindly old grandmas and mild-mannered ice cream vendors into snarling ravenous foul-mouthed beasts. They descend upon the ramshackle diner in a series of full-frontal assaults commanded by the archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) the George Pickett of End of Days generals.
Beneath its superficial religious facade Legion is really just a run-of-the-mill zombie flick a Biblical I Am Legend. Bettany an actor accustomed to smaller dramatic roles in films like A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code looks perfectly at ease in his first major action role wielding machine guns and bowie knives with equal aplomb. Conversely first-time director Scott Stewart a former visual effects artist does little to prove himself worthy of such a promotion serving up some impressive CGI work but not much else worthy of note.